The international break is finally over, despite the pause in Premier League football being just one weekend – it always feels like much longer.
Maybe that’s because we have to endure Gareth Southgate’s England or the fact we have to spend more time away from our laptops not listening to press conferences before finding out Pep has dropped Phil Foden and Ruben Dias for no reason.
FPL can be so interesting for so many reasons, but more and more you’ll notice teams have the same template of players with just a number of differences. The armband tends to sit on Erling Haaland out of fear of missing out and gambles are few and far between.
We appreciate the risk factor in FPL isn’t for everyone. If you’re looking to top your mini-league and have bragging rights at work on Monday morning then we’ve picked out a handful of differentials that could help you do so.
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Konstantinos Tsimikas (£4.4m)
If you’ve switched off from football during the international break you may have missed the news of Andy Robertson’s shoulder injury. The defender suffered the knock in Scotland’s 2-0 defeat to Spain last Thursday.
He was subbed off and was visibly in pain as he left the pitch and has now been pictured with his right arm in a sling – adding to the fears that he will miss a number of weeks.
The most natural successor to his left-back position at Anfield is Greek defender Konstantinos Tsimikas. The 27-year-old has been a bit part player since his move to Merseyside, but offers a cheap route into Jurgen Klopp’s defence.
Liverpool have only kept one Premier League clean sheet this season, but with the likes of Mohammed Salah, Darwin Nunez and Luis Diaz leading the line for Liverpool – it’s the attacking returns where you could really make some ground.
Tsimikas picked up an assist for Greece during the international break and during his run in the team at the start of the 2021/22 season, Tsimikas picked up an assist and two clean sheets before Robertson took back his place.
Hwang Hee-chan (£5.4m)
Did you know Wolves’ Hwang Hee-chan has the same amount of Premier League goals this season as Jarrod Bowen and Mo Salah and has scored more than Bryan Mbeumo and Bukayo Saka? Hwang Hee-chan has netted five goals this season in just five Premier League starts.
His minutes at the start of the season provided room for worry, but as the season has gone on his performances have earned him more time on the pitch with Hee-chan starting Wolves’ last two games against Manchester City and Aston Villa – scoring in both.
Although he’s outperforming his xG of 1.77, Wolves have upcoming fixtures against Bournemouth, Sheffield United and Fulham who all rank inside the top seven for goals conceded and xGA so far this season.
It’s not the most attractive of names to own, but something you need to sit in the flames and with four goals in his last five Premier League games – Hee-chan is certainly on form.
Dominic Solanke (£6.4m)
There’s points to be had with your forwards in Fantasy Premier League, Erling Haaland is owned by 88% of managers, with Julian Alvarez, Ollie Watkins and Alexander Isak all above 20% ownership. If you’re looking to throw in a new name, Bournemouth’s Dominic Solanke could be the route to head down.
Solanke has scored three goals in the Premier League this season and picked up one assist – more importantly he’s played every single minute for Andoni Iraola’s side in his favoured 4-2-3-1 formation.
The Englishman places eighth in the xG table for strikers with 3.02 xG and has an xA of 0.56 and is currently averaging 2.6 shots per game. What appeals most about Solanke is his next two fixtures, Bournemouth host both Wolves and Burnley who both rank in the top six for xGA.
